Market Makers
Honor the wood
Ancient juniper trees gathered from the forest floor are transformed into exquisite tables, beds, chairs, and desks by master woodworker Andy Sanchez of Belen, a village south of Albuquerque. The furniture making process begins when several of Sanchez's sons accompany him on the five-hour drive to the thick Gila National Forest woods outside Reserve, New Mexico, where thousand year old dead trees are slabbed and hauled back to Sanchez's shop in a pickup truck.
--"Juniper wood has to be thoroughly dry before it's cut or it will crack, which is why I gather ancient trees that have been dead for anywhere from 10 to 100 years,"Sanchez explains, "I don't waste any part of the tree. I want to honor the wood. The branches are used for table and desk bases."
--For the past 12 years Sanchez has used his finely honed woodworking skills to create a line of custom furniture with hand-rubbed satin finish. If the timeworn wood has a hole in it, he fills the opening with marble or stone from a local quarry so stone and wood have the sme birthplace.
--Sanchez finds it difficult to classify his designs. While others view the rustic furniture as influenced by Western patterns, he prefers to simply say that the shape of the wood directs his design work. "My furniture is found in Western, log, modern Southwestern, and New York homes," he says, "Even people who fill their homes with antiques have commissioned me to make dining room or bedroom sets."
--One of Sanchez's slogans is that there are family resemblances in his work but no twins. Each piece is unique, and when he starts a project he is never quite sure what it will look like upon completion. Sanchez says he delights in delivering his work to clients. "It's like placing puppies in homes."
